As technology rapidly changes, electrical contractors must stay up-to-date on industry advancements— their jobs depend on it. Advancements in tools, lighting, machinery, accessories and more, frequently allow for electrical jobs to be completed faster, more efficiently and often times even more cost effectively. In addition, many of these advancements help trades workers to be safer on the job.
Year after year, Electrical Alliance contractors demonstrate that they light up the nation’s capital and surrounding metropolitan area. In fact, Electrical Alliance contractors worked on the vast majority of the largest construction projects in the greater D.C. region last year and are essential contributors on many award-winning projects.
By Jerry Rivera, Washington, DC NECA Safety Director
Everyone knows that construction sites can be of particular danger to the untrained eye. It is for this reason that the construction industry has designated May as the National safety Month for construction. It is during this time that you can witness the construction industry taking a stand for safety. Below are just a few of the safety stand-downs that are scheduled for 2017.
By Michael Mock
I just returned from the National Electrical Contractor Association’s international conference held in Boston. Two words – “Disruptive Technologies.”
Like virtually every industry, the electrical construction industry is undergoing a massive transition in both the way we think about our work and how we perform our work. As one conference speaker asked, “Are you a resistor or a transistor?” Resistance is futile!
By Jerry Rivera, Safety Director of Washington, D.C. Chapter of NECA
The summer season in the Mid-Atlantic has been brutal with temperatures rising well above the 90’s and humidity levels well above 50%. This extreme weather pattern can be particularly dangerous to workers who are required to work outdoors.
The dangers to outdoor workers can manifest themselves in the worst form of heat related illnesses such as heat exhaustion and heat stroke. These dangers are real and very serious. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) reports that in 2014 over 2,630 workers suffered from heat illness and 18 died from heat stroke and related causes on the job. This is a troubling trend since heat illnesses and deaths are more often preventable.
By Kevin Burton, NECA/IBEW Local 26 JATC Assistant Director
The Electrical Training Alliance (formerly known as the NJATC) launched a Code Challenge competition in February. The challenge was designed to be facilitated by instructors during classroom time. Nine apprentices decided to take the challenge.
AA4 Jessica Hitt took the leadership role and assembled a team that included Lonnie Adams, Gerard Andrews, Nicole Griffith, Maikil Herndon, Prentise Hicks, Andrew Jewett, Ghedolom Kiros and James Reid.
During the month of April these students coordinated their schedules in order to meet three-six hours a week at the JATC computer lab to participate in the challenge.
Needless to say, they won, beating Local 3 in the final round! A total of 88 teams participated. For their efforts, they win an all-expense paid trip to the NFPA Conference and Expo in Las Vegas in June.
Our apprentices rock!
Learn more about the Code Challenge and the Washington, DC JATC.
When runoff from heavy rains began flooding the Bloomingdale and LeDroit Park neighborhoods in Washington, D.C., the city and D.C. Water made a plan. They would create temporary underground holding tanks for the water as well as install green infrastructure components such as bioswales and rain gardens to absorb storm water before it entered the system.
